Blissdom 2013

My second-ever visit to the state of Texas was a whirlwind.The main purpose of my time in Dallas was the Blissdom Social Media Conference which was held at the gorgeous Gaylord Texan resort. And I mean gorgeous as in restuarants under enormous glass atriums with water fountains.My 4 (FOUR!) days and nights there were filled with ridiculous amounts of uninterrupted sleep and a dubious amount of calories. O and also holding random babies. Literal sat-down-at-the-table-next-to-us-and-we-stole-her-baby random babies.Elbow chub!!The adorable Dear Abby Leigh and the even adorabler daughter of Lindsey of Two Bobbins LaterThe exception in the sleep department came Friday morning when I got up at 4:30am to hear Jon Acuff speak about what he has learned from his experience in social media. It was an interesting and engaging talk, although it was not exactly what I was expecting. When I signed up for it, I understood the description as being a vision-casting kind of gathering that would be a mix of Jon addressing the group and time for us to work and write in an encouraging environment. It wasn’t that – Jon spoke the whole time – but it was fun and enjoyable. Dude’s hilarious.I have mixed feelings about the sessions I attended at Blissdom. I liked all of them. The speakers were all very professional, polished and engaging. I left each one encouraged and motivated but I was also hoping for more tangible nuggets and action items for the bettering of my blog and social media presence. I did hear from several attendees that in this session or that one there were some great take-aways, so I will definitely be going back and watching the videos of a few of those. My favorites were Sheila Marcelo’s session Redefining Success and Jon Acuff’s closing keynote.And then I got down with my bad self at the Girls’ Night Out Blissdom event. I haven’t danced like that since… my wedding, maybe? It felt so good to be out on the floor with girlfriends just having a hilariously awesome and care-free time. Only downside is that I’ve had LMFAO Sexy and I Know It stuck in my head for almost a week.I work out!After the after party I got to watch the premier of an episode of Animal Planet’s Tanked featuring my friend Laura of Hollywood Housewife. I don’t know which was more fun, watching the episode or watching her watch the episode. Yea no, I know. It was the latter.At the party viewing I had fried pickles for the first time in my life. You guys. Why did you not tell me about fried pickles before? They were so life changing that I took a picture. You’re welcome.The food and sleep were epic, but to me BlissDom has always been about the face-to-face time with my friends from around the country. It dawned on me while I was dancing under a disco ball with girls that I love with my whole heart and with whom I am humbled to share my life through friendship online and off that I am absolutely blessed beyond reason to be part of this online community.This crazy, eccentric, hilarious community.{photo credit: BlissDom} [[from left: Sharone of Zizzavivizz, Me, JJ the BlahBlahBlahger, Chris Mann from The Voice, (a very confused) Amber Riley from Glee, Abby of Dear Abby Leigh, and Ruthanne of Eclectic Whatnot]]

Michele Quan..

There is something almost magical about bells. I spotted Michele Quan's ceramic bells on one of my favorite tumblr's to visit, Love Adorned (which is also a brick and mortar store in NYC). Quan's work seems thoughtful and really moving in a way, like they've had past lives. Her bell garlands are my favorite along with her bells on twisted rope with porcelain.

Images from Michele Quan's site of her opening, Suzu at Love Adorned.

Blur sera le Call of Duty du jeu de courses

Le prochain jeu de courses de Bizarre Creations, déjà responsable des très convaincants Project Gotham Racing, suscite beaucoup d'espoir chez Activision qui se chargera d'éditer la bête. En effet, Michael Griffith, un des dirigeants de l'éditeur, a déclaré que Blur apportera de véritables innovations dans sa catégorie. Il ajoute que le titre est conçu pour faire dans le milieu du jeu de courses ce que Call of Duty a fait pour les FPS. Traduisez par là, Blur sera une véritable tuerie et nous allons en vendre des millions d'exemplaires.

Blur PC

Blur PS3

Blur 360

Hands free daddy

Out of complete desperation one day… after I just couldn’t take one more second of screaming… I started searching for other options around the house… my back hurt.. my arms hurt.. my legs hurt from bouncing and I just needed a break..When all of a sudden.. I saw the carrier that we got for a shower present and decided to give it a whirl.. It was really hard to figure out on my own.. but I eventually got it all strapped on and put him in it. Surprisingly… He fell asleep in less than an hour… and I was able to get things done around the house. It’s now my go-to calming device.. he will usually fall asleep in it..The other night as I tried to get some things done he was his normally fussy self.. I asked Aaron if he wanted to try the carrier and we got him all suited up… We also discovered its a GREAT way to keep his Binky in! (he’s not a binky boy so we have to find someway to make sure it stay in or he wont keep it in..)
And just like clockwork… in a few minutes he was out!!!

Daddy even found a way to play and hold the baby hands free! :)

and um.. this is just a random picture that makes him look HUGE.. I don’t even know what I was doing or why he was just laying there on the bed.. but he put himself to sleep all stretched out..His outfit add’s to the appearance of his hugeness too! Since its a newborn size and looks like 3/4 sleeves and capri’s! :)

and … 1 month pictures are coming soon.. I just havent uploaded them yet.. And we’re blessing him next weekend.. and I need to find him an outfit since the chunky monkey is too big for Aaron’s outfit… I guess that’s what happens when you’re double the size of you dad at the same age! :)

Lucky Jackson..

I have been thinking a lot about 365 day projects, because it's, well you know the beginning of the year. I'm hoping to launch a blog project around this concept for you all to take part with me. Stay tuned for that!

Lucky Jackson has put the 365 day challenge to the test: each day she embroiders something and posts it on her blog. Each piece is whimsical, colorful and so fun! Umm, hello Mug Shot Week? What I think is best though...is she started it late last year. She didn't need Jan 1st to whip herself into shape, she just up and did it. 

All I have to say is I hope to God there is a Ron Swanson in Lucky's sewing future. Other than that I love this project!

found via Borrowed, Bought, Stolen.

william crump..

20x200 released two rad prints by william crump this week. the first is called the mountain of western expansion and the second, the mountain of tomorrow's sunrise. william's use of color is rich, lush and like goldilocks, just right. both prints were taken from william's series called high lonesome. you can see more of the high lonesome series on his recently updated website.

Get Smart..

I went to see Get Smart on Friday.. After we stopped for a delectable SubWay sandwich.

Those things are one of my biggest weaknesses right now.. 4 months ago, I liked SubWay but was over it..and just kind of sick of it. If I was forced to go there I would normally just get a salad.

But now I can’t get enough of it.. Granted I’m not “supposed” to eat deli meats. So I stick with the BLT. I am sooooo particular about how it has to be made. Did you know all the SubWay’s around here put the cheese on the top part of the bread?? DUH.. cheese goes on the bottom..and what’s the deal with the mayo on top of all the fixin’s??? Mayo also belongs on the bread!!! Boy its frustrating…

Anyway.. What was I talking about??

Oh yea… the movie..I went on my month “date” with my favorite movie buddy… Kara..

(Okay..so this picture is not Kara.. it’s actually her dog.. Spike (aka Riddick’s brother)I can’t for the life of me find a picture of Kara on this computer..so just pretend.. k?)

(Doesn’t he look like he’s 100 years old?? He wasn’t even 2 in this picture.. Which bring me the another thought… Our babies are going to be 4 in 18 days!! I can’t even believe it…… okay.. back to the story..)

Normally.. I wouldn’t choose to see this movie.. but I let her pick every once in awhile.. Plus. It did look funny..

I could tell from the first preview that it was going to be an interesting night… The preview was for the dumbest looking movie called Step Brothers. The theatre was pretty packed. We had the two isle seats. (Our theatres here do reserved seating.. LOVE IT!) I have severe claustrophobia lately.. I think its because I feel like a blimp even though I don’t really look any different. Anyway.. Kara took the outside seat.. I didn’t say anything.. it wasn’t that huge of a deal.. I could deal with it..

The lady sitting next to me was larger.. not HUGE.. but on the larger side.. So I knew it was going to be squishy.. But i did not know the level of ANNOYANCE that was about to begin..

She and her friend were the type of people that would laugh UNCONTROLLABLY at anything…. And I mean .. anything!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole movie was filled with…

“OMG. .did he just start walking with his left foot???” That is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen..” both laughing so hard.. they are crying…

“OMG.. did he just take a drink of water?? That is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen..” now they are doing that laughing so hard they start clapping thing…

“OMG.. did he really just say ‘the’??? That is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen..” no joke.. they start slapping their knees. and laughing soooo hard…

This seriously kept going through the whole movie.. They laughed so hard at the freakin‘ stupidest things in the whole world.. and when it was actually funny.. they laughed even harder.

I don’t know if I’m just easily annoyed or completely cynical.. but it honestly made it REALLY hard to even find the funny parts funny…

That said.. it was actually a pretty good movie.. I think I’ll rent it when it comes to RedBox since I probably missed quite a bit of the movie with all the eye rolling I was doing…

That’s all…

L’iPod Touch transformé en téléphone VoIP

Grâce au logiciel anglais gratuit Truphone, les utilisateurs d’iPod Touch peuvent passer et recevoir des coups de fils entre eux en VoIP.

Il arrive que la concurrence vienne parfois de son propre camp. C’est un peu ce qui se passe pour Apple. Truphone, société anglaise, a mis au point une application gratuite qui permet de téléphoner en VoIP depuis son téléphone mobile. Cette application est désormais disponible pour l’iPod Touch.

Donc concrètement, tout possesseur d’un iPod Touch disposant d’une connexion Wi-Fi, peut appeler et prendre un appel émanant d’un autre iPod Touch. Truphone fonctionne également avec Google Talk. L’application crée un clavier virtuel sur l’écran de l’iPod Touch auquel il faut associer un micro-casque. Contre toute attente, cette application est déjà disponible sur l’Apple App Store.

Il faut dire qu’elle ne représente pas une menace directe pour l’iPhone car il y a tout de même un certain nombre de conditions à remplir : avoir des contacts possédant eux-mêmes un iPod Touch et se trouver dans une zone de couverture Wi-Fi.

Orange you glad to see me

He was just being cute in his new orange shirt.. so you get to see him! :) Check out those eyes.. they have been getting more and more blue lately.. I love that he is going to have Aaron’s eyes. He looks so much like Aaron’s baby pictures. I’ll post them soon…

A few people have asked about his belly button.. so just in case you’ve ever wondered.. this is what a herniated belly button looks like.. You can push all his guts back in through the hole.. but they just pop back out… and when he cries.. this doubles in size! Poor baby….

yue minjin..

i have searched high and low on the internet and well, the internet...and i can find almost nothing on the chinese painter yue minjin. other than his paintings usually consists of smiling/laughing men dressed the exact same. his imagery is an indirect dig at the socialist chinese government and their stifling reign over the people. i'm into it. i guess that'll have to do for now.

by the numbers

18 days since I last posted8 days until my due dateDozens of sweet messages and emails asking “Are you guys ok, friend?”(Yes. We are!)4 contractions last night, each 20 minutes apart, but then they disappeared4 voice mails left by my dad trying to get a hold of me last week (I’ve been unacceptably busy)2 phones at the same time held up to my ears – one with the tile shop and one with my dad (pretty much how my life has been lately)28 weeks, the pregnancy stage at which my sweet friend gave birth to her micro-preemie (my heart has been heavy and my hands full as I tried to help wherever I could)1:15am is how late DanO and I stayed up tiling the bathroom floor on Friday391 bajillion times I’ve told myself “I need to blog today!!”7 gallons of paint applied to the upstairs (3 of them on top of each other because I didn’t like the color. twice.)23lbs gained this pregnancy (with OBaby it was 43lbs. Apparently chasing a toddler and building a story of your house keeps the weight off?)38 weeks is how far I got before having to take off my size 4.5 engagement ring. Just the band left, and it’s size 6.512 cans of cherry coke presently in my fridge because O My Cravings, I have never wanted soda so badly in all my life208 feet of baseboard trim to paint, sand, install, and re-paint2 cm dilated and “really nice and soft” … that would be the state of my cervix as of Wednesday20 pelvic rocks each night because my midwife noted that gummybear is posterior22 unread emails in O My Family’s inbox (shudder.)2 pair of maternity ‘work’ jeans in my wardrobe (both have gnarly holes in the inner-thigh, but when you’re married to DanO, you know that maternity work clothes will come in handy)Innumerable hours of sleep lost, wondering when this baby will come and if we’ll be far enough on the upstairs remodel.8:00pm when I left the house last Monday to go get a pedicure because I wanted to4 days of sad/feverish/under the weather behavior from OBaby last week3.5 hours (happily) spent holding my sweet boy while he napped because he didn’t want to be laid down.59 days until O My Brother-In-Law’s wedding, during which OBaby will wear a toddler tux. I am practically already dying from the cuteness.2 successful recent grocery trips with the toddler without passing out or calling DanO49,240 times DanO has told me that it’s all going to work out just fine580 square feet of wood floor left to install upstairsMake that 49,241$180 spent on figuring out why our dog was… uhm… well, let’s just leave it at ‘very sick’2 antibiotics a day to the dog for a week1 disposable diaper used to pad the stair railing as we brought it homesheer brilliance: cannot be quantified

smosch..

smosch is an illustrator, avid crocheter, photographer and all around creative lady. her little butt crack dolls are hysterical and really quite cute. she's recently stocked her etsy store full of wonderful things. smosch took advantage of all the fabric she had in the basement and got industrious. check out her beautifully colorful mats, trays and chopping boards. don't miss her mini calendars w/ her wonderful illustrations. each one is so different from the next, you may need all 9, and for a cool $3.50 how could you pass them up? smosch also has an amazing eye when it comes to photography, be sure to check out here blog where she posts images often.

sarah ressler..

I recently saw Sarah Ressler's work at Fat Ram's Pumpkin Tattoo shop, here in Boston. The minute I walked in, before even saying hello to my friend who I was there to see, I asked excitedly about the art...going so far as to get Sarah's number, I was that excited. The paintings in the shop are a wide variety of birds, all impeccably painted. Sarah combines classic painting techniques with graffiti drip style seamlessly. The combination of the two worlds works effortlessly and adds an exciting depth to her work. Her birds look almost real as they drip onto stenciled lace, cirlces or numbers. I can't say enough how excited I was to stumble on to her work, literally doors from my home. She will be at Boston's Bazaar Bizarre this Sunday. To see her work in person contact Fat Ram's or check out her Flickr page where you can contact Sarah about pricing, etc.